New mom? Must read fitness advice for you.

Are you trying to lose baby weight but find that you’re not seeing results despite your best efforts? Sometimes new moms hit a fitness and weight loss plateau and it can feel like you’ll never get back to your pre-baby body. But working smarter not harder can  help you see results, so don’t despair.

I know it’s hard to drop baby weight and I’ve written before about why new moms need to concentrate on bonding with their baby. I also believe that eating right and snatching a few moments to exercise can help new moms feel more positive, reduce stress and rebuild body confidence.
Any new mom’s focus will be on developing a baby routine but it’s important to carve out time for yourself too. Otherwise as your baby reaches each milestone, you may find that you aren’t reaching your goals. With all your attention on your baby, it’s easy to neglect yourself and that can lead to you losing confidence.
I’m a positive person and I want you to be confident too!  So here are my tried and tested tips to make sure that you new moms can overcome any fitness plateaus and continue to build your strength and stamina.  Whether you want more energy or would simply love to fit back into your favorite jeans, try to apply these ideas in your life.

Four ‘new mom tips’ to kickstart your fitness routine:

• Try to exercise for at least 30 minutes, five days a week and split up your workouts so that three focus on cardio activity and two are strength based.
• Mix up your workouts and vary your routine. If you follow the exact same workout plan every time then your body will adapt and you’ll stop seeing results.
• Make sure you’re exercising effectively – take a look at some of my how-to videos so you can perform common exercises correctly.
• Once a routine becomes easy then pick up the pace – you need to keep challenging yourself.

Many people find that the effort they put into exercising drops off over time, so try these extra tips to stay motivated:

• Add some resistance training to help build lean body mass as this will help your fitness plan be more effective.
• If you find cardio boring then choose to add some fun: pick your favorite music or train with a friend
• Try HITT to push yourself and vary your routine.

When you hit a fitness or weight loss plateau it’s time to re-address your plan and ensure it is balanced to meet your core needs and help you to achieve your goals. Remember, getting back to a level of fitness and body confidence you are happy with is not a race, so take it one day at a time.
Having a baby (or babies) changes your body in many ways and it is important to understand that you need to listen to your body. Get adequate rest and don’t stress out about your baby weight! Stress can sabotage your plan, so relax and have fun being active.

Written by Samantha Clayton, AFAA, ISSA.

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